This past weekend, the PGA Tour rolled into TPC Craig Ranch for the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament. Coming on the heels of the previous week’s PGA Championship, the event featured a less competitive field than usual.
Nevertheless, the tournament favored players who excel at making birdies or better. Historically, the winners here have been those who successfully notch up low scores. In this setting, even a par can leave players feeling they have lost ground.
Despite substantial investments made by TPC Craig Ranch to increase the course’s difficulty, scoring remained largely unaffected. Early-week rain led to preferred lies for players in the fairways, allowing them to target pins with precision.
As the competition intensified, Wyndham Clark emerged the victor on Sunday, securing a three-shot lead with an impressive -30 score. This marked Clark’s fourth tour win since his triumph at the 2024 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Clark’s success was largely due to his exceptional performance on the greens, where he led in strokes gained putting. This prowess allowed him to fend off challengers like Si Woo Kim, Scottie Scheffler, Keith Mitchell, and Tony Finau. The victory was a crucial morale boost for Clark, who has faced some criticism since his last win.
Looking ahead, Clark’s performance raises questions about his potential impact in upcoming events, particularly as he prepares for the U.S. Open, which he claimed back in 2023. This win certainly sets a positive tone, but let’s revisit how our predictions fared for the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Does this win mean Clark will be more of a factor moving forward in the lead up to the U.S. Open, a tournament Clark won in 2023? This was certainly a step in the right direction, but it’s time to take a look at how we did with our picks for the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson Picks
Let’s start with a review of the odds to win the tournament heading into Thursday:
- Scottie Scheffler (+170)
- Si Woo Kim (+1275)
- Jordan Spieth (+1750)
- Brooks Koepka (+2500)
- Keith Mitchell (+3750)
When it comes to picks for this event, I like to start with my favorite and long shot picks for the tournament. The favorite pick is the pick I like the most for an outright winner. For the long shot winner, that is a golfer who has over +2000 odds to win. It is a long shot pick for a reason, and finding those can be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Favorite: Scottie Scheffler (+170) – MISS
The fact Scheffler had just +170 odds entering this event gave me pause, but with the field being lesser-than it felt like a safe bet. Scheffler played well, finishing solo 3rd, but just couldn’t make enough birdies to chase down Wyndham Clark.
Long Shot: Keith Mitchell (+3750) – MISS
Mitchell has had some Top 10 finishes this season, and his 5th place finish had him close to pulling off my first long shot win since making picks. Nonetheless, Mitchell fell short of the outright win, but he did help us in another category of picks.
Top 5 Bets For CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2026
Kim plays well at this event, and it seemed like a logical play to put him in the Top 5 category. He came through for us, finishing solo 2nd, and helped us hit at +210. What is crazy is Kim finishing Top 5 was better odds than Scheffler winning the tournament outright.
- Scottie Scheffler (-265) – HIT
I’m not a fan of taking a golfer at -265, but Scheffler seemed like a sure bet in this regard. If you put a small amount of money on Scheffler to be in the Top 5 you didn’t get much of a return, but it’s a win none the less with Scheffler’s solo 3rd place finish.
Top 10 Picks For 2026 CJ Cup Odds
- Jordan Spieth (+144) – MISS
Spieth is a Texas resident, and I felt he would play well in this tournament. My hunch turned out to be accurate, but it just didn’t play out into a winning Top 10 pick. Spieth’s Saturday of +2 did him in, and he finished with a T19 finish in the tournament. Speith’s game continues to trend in the right direction, but he just has to be able to put together four rounds of golf before being a viable contender.
- Brooks Koepka (+205) – MISS
Koepka, like Spieth, was a player who entered the CJ Cup trying to get himself his first win in a long time. Koepka looked to be in the mix after Rounds 1 and 2, but he failed to make enough shots on the weekend to contend with the likes of Clark, Kim, and Scheffler. Koepka had a good tournament, finishing T14, but just outside the desired Top 10 designation.
Top 20 Value Picks For The CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2026
- Keith Mitchell (+126) – HIT
Mitchell was out long shot play for the tournament, and throwing him into the Top 20 category seemed like a logical play. Mitchell’s stellar play equated in a winning bet, as he finished solo 5th. Mitchell helps us hit another pick in this tournament.
Every week I take a “gut pick” for the Top 20 category, and this week it was Tony Finau. Finau has too much game to be playing as poorly as he has been on tour this season. After missing out on The Masters, I took the hunch Finau would be able to go low in this event. And he did, finishing T6. Finau helps us cash both of our Top 20 plays.
Prop Bets, Parlays And Bonus Plays for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Double Chance: Scottie Scheffler or Si Woo Kim (+130) – MISS
Top USA Golfer: Scottie Scheffler (+118) – MISS
Tournament Review:
Outright Plays: 4/8
Bonus Plays: 0/2
